Academic Success Program (ASP)

The Academic Success Program is co-directed by Professors Maryann Brown and Alice Eakin, Associate Legal Methods Professors with extensive experience teaching law students how to study the law and excel on law school exams. ASP offers formal programming during Orientation and the first three semesters of law school, has individual academic counseling and a resource library available to all law students.

Course Instruction

The Academic Success Program is primarily delivered through formal instruction in classes designed to help students excel in law school. This instruction starts in the incoming student Orientation Program that includes workshops on class preparation, case briefing, note-taking, and outlining. Academic Success instruction continues early in the first semester in Applied Learning Labs, which are workshops attached to one of the required courses. The Labs use the doctrine students are studying in class to strengthen essential law school skills.

Academic Success continues in the following first and second year courses specifically designed to improve law school learning and performance.

Intensive Legal Analysis

Intensive Legal Analysis (ILA) is a graded, two-credit course required for students entering their second semester of law school with a GPA below 2.5. This course is designed to enhance academic achievement by helping students excel in rule-based reasoning skill areas. Students are provided with individualized feedback on at least five graded exams and a number of other graded and ungraded assignments. Students also conference individually with their professor three times during the semester to develop targeted strategies and to review progress.

Advanced Analytical Applications

Advanced Analytical Applications (AAA) is a graded, two-credit course required for those students who are entering their third semester of law school with a GPA below 2.7 and who have not taken ILA. Students taking AAA are challenged to achieve excellence in exam-answering techniques through numerous exam writing opportunities and other assignments designed to improve academic achievement. Students receive individualized feedback and support designed to address their areas of concern.

Individual Work

Academic Success is also achieved by individual work between students and instructors. Professors Brown and Eakin are available to meet with students individually or in groups to help them develop the skills, study techniques, and time management competencies critical to success in law school. Students can simply email either professor to arrange a time to meet, or stop by the Office of Student Affairs.

Resource Library

The Academic Success Program Resource Library contains substantive and commercial resources for each first-year subject and all required courses. The commercial resources include practice exams and study aids to suit a variety of learning styles and may be signed out for up to two weeks. The ASP Resource Library is housed in the Office of Student Affairs.